By John R. Schirmer
News-Leader staff
The Nashville School Board voted Nov. 19 to purchase two more OpenGate Weapons Detection systems at a cost of about $49,000. Funding will come through the Stronger Connection Mini Grant program.
Superintendent Doug Graham recommended the additional systems. The district earlier purchased four OpenGate systems, and training is underway for those who will be operating them.
“It’s a good deal. We’re getting trained on it,” Graham said. “We’ve used it at the junior high dance and at basketball games. We hope it’s a deterrent.”
The devices are portable and will be used in classroom buildings and at Scrapper Arena, Scrapper Stadium, the agri building and other locations.
“We can adjust the sensitivity so it won’t pick up every item,” according to Graham. For example, cell phones and car keys do not have to be removed.
Campus administrators “are ready to have meetings with their students to explain procedures” to be used with the devices.
Board member Nick Britt asked how much additional expense would be involved in ordering more units so schools would not have to move them.
Graham said that one Class 5A school “spent over $1 million to place them at all entrances. We’ll get thereabout in smaller bites.”
The board also agreed on another security expenditure. The district will purchase the Hall Pass School Visitor Management system for all four campuses.
Visitors will place their drivers licenses into a device which gives the school information about them. If everything checks out, the machine will print a photo badge for the visitor.
“It’s another level of security,” Graham said. “We’ll set them up in the main offices.”
The school calendar for 2025-26 was discussed. “Normally we have two more months to work on it, but parents want to know to plan vacations,” Graham said.
Feedback on the hybrid calendar now in use “has been really positive. I polled the PPC [Personnel Policies Committee]. They want to stay with a very similar calendar.”
Small changes are under consideration, Graham said. “We may start the first week of August and finish at the end of May. That would eliminate church camp conflicts and summer travel league conflicts.”
Some of the breaks would be slightly shorter if the later start date is approved, according to Graham. “We’ll let the PPC make recommendations on the breaks. We still want the breaks for students and teachers.”
If changes are approved, classes would begin around Aug. 4, Graham said, with the year ending after Memorial Day.
PPC members told the board that the response to the hybrid calendar has been “overwhelmingly positive” on their campuses among both students and teachers.
Graham said a grandparent told him that “being able to see the kids during the year has been a blessing.”
In other business, the board approved a $1,000 Thanksgiving bonus for each district employee. The bonuses were issued last Friday, Nov. 22, at a total cost of $271,000.
The extra money is not on the salary schedule, Graham said, “but in the spring, we will add the bonus into the schedule” if finances remain strong. Currently, “The money is there, but we’re not sure about LEARNS,” the state’s education program.
The board approved a restroom partition upgrade for Nashville Primary School at a cost of $46,000. “Primary has the oldest restrooms,” Graham said.
The upgrades will be installed in two girls restrooms and two boys restrooms.
Following a 53-minute executive session, the board accepted the following resignations: Shawn Jackson, head football coach and other duties at Nashville High School; Irene Carrillo, special ed self contained; and Kimberly Torres, ESL aide.
The board hired Paul Edwards as custodian at a the ABC building and Kayla Harris as special ed aide.
